Latino-American Students – Identifying Barriers in their Academic Success
教育学论文代写 The assumptions about development of Latino-American students have always been worrisome to a larger extent. The factor…
Introduction
The assumptions about development of Latino-American students have always been worrisome to a larger extent. The factor that complicates the understanding of Latino-American students development needs are immigrants across borders also being developed using the same metrics. However, it is important to understand that most of the students going to college are the first generation, who haven’t had exposure to longitudinal studies. In reference to this, the paper is going to serve as a student development guide for Latino-American students by helping teachers and other educational leaders understand what the best way to develop students is.
How do students develop? 教育学论文代写
Students develop when they get a nourishing and encouraging culture. According to Marrero, the first step in any student development course is to make students feel that they are accepted and their individuality is respected (pp. 180-186). This boosts their confidence to study in an institution, which in turn can make them eager to learn and explore. Stein in her paper mentioned that they have noticed that students who take more than one development course before the official commencement of their study perform better academically compared to those who start their education without taking any development course. This finding reveals that specific development courses need to be designed keeping in mind the origin, race and language of the student (pp. 82-86).
It is obvious that development courses are necessary or cornerstone of the student development, but what should be the course of content and what should be taught in such courses are also important questions that needed to be answered. In this regard, a study by Goodman & Cirecie reveal that development courses should be designed only after careful analysis of the students’ needs (pp. 176-186). For instance, if a student lacks English communication skills then the first development course such students should enroll in should teach them English language. However, in case of Latino-Americans who are good at speaking the language, the course should be based on confidence building, multiculturalism, and development of psycho-social attributes.
According to Stein, another factor that needed consideration for development of Latino-American students is by including the social literacies of the community (pp. 82-86).
The United States educational sector was previously more focused on the development needs of African-American that little attention has been given on the developmental needs of other students. However, changing demographics of the country warrants educational leaders and researchers to understand the growing need of focusing on the developmental needs of other growing communities. According to Wei, Tsun-Yao & Kelly, scholars have realized it very late that the racial element of multicultural education is very complex and it is wrong to view it from the biracial prism only (p. 195). 教育学论文代写
According to Fergus, Pedro and Margary, where educational leaders went wrong in the student development process of Latino-American students is that they were under the impression that student development models designed for African-American is just perfect for other races and can easily be applied by default to Latino-American students (pp. 55-90).
The disparity as noted by Marrero among Latino-American students is great and it has been revealed by the researchers that a majority of Latino-American students belong to low-income families and they are not prepared well academically (pp. 180-186). With no strong academic background, educational leaders should expect Latino-Americans to perform poorly or to drop out and to develop them specific development courses should be introduced.
Other students develop by being confident about their future, having strong personality attributes, and enjoying support from their family and friends.
The case with Latino-American is a bit different and thus development courses should focus on the areas where they lack. According to Reynolds, Jacob and Gregory, the best way to develop student from any background is by developing the capacities they lack but need for growing academically (pp. 135-149). According to Park and Melissa, Latino-American students usually come into a classroom with a preconceived notion that they are not as intelligent as other and they will perform low in the class (pp. 445-461). However, with development courses this fear of Latino-American students can be shaken off and they will start performing better.
How did you experience your development?
My academic development started in the childhood so most the fears and factors stated above were not part of me. However, I did take a development course that focuses on developing psycho-social attributes, which helped me greatly in performing better than I thought I would. The course I took changed my personality completely as well my attitude towards multiculturalism. The development course was an experience of a lifetime, as it changed my perception towards the society and the courses I took. The course made me to some extent fully aware about the association of my emotional and mental well-being with the environment I was in. I got to learn about the educational environment and identified ways to perform better in a multicultural educational environment. My development journey was somehow smooth as I had a very supporting family and was already a part of a diverse culture.
Advice to fellow peer facilitators 教育学论文代写
The growing population of Latino-American and the widening gap between their educational achievements and their counterparts’ educational achievements. Marrero believes that in the longer run, this gap of educational achievement has a lot of social implications, which peer facilitators need to understand (pp. 180-186). First advice I would offer to peer facilitators on the basis the research and my personal experience is that identify the areas where Latino-American students are lacking. This would help in understanding what kind of developmental course is suitable for them. This first step will also allow educational leaders to understand that even not all Latino-American students can be treated the same way and everyone has unique developmental needs which need to be addressed. Secondly, I would advice peer facilitators to treat every case differently and realize that one development course or one set of development courses cannot fit all. Therefore, it is imperative to understand that sometimes they will have to design specific developmental courses on the basis of the nature of students.
Thirdly, educational leaders need to dig deeper in this area, since the subject pertaining to the development needs of Latino-American students. Further research will help understand the problems and challenges the students generally face and better solutions can come out that too proven by research.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the challenges facing Latino-American students about their developmental needs are huge and can only be addressed if specific development courses are designed to make them embrace the environment they are about to step in. It is important to teach every case differently, because one student may have great personality traits but lacks proper English communication skills, whereas another student may have excellent grasp over English communication skills but has fears about being from a particular race that is generally stereotyped as having low intelligence compared to others. In order to ensure academic success of each and every student regardless of their ethnicity or skin color, it is imperative for educational leaders to focus on what they need to develop their skills and ensure their academic success.
Work Cited 教育学论文代写
- Fergus, Edward, Pedro Noguera, and Margary Martin. Schooling for Resilience: Improving the Life Trajectory of Black and Latino Boys. Harvard Education Press. 8 Story Street First Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138, 2014.
- Goodman, Rachael D., and Cirecie A. West‐Olatunji. “Educational hegemony, traumatic stress, and African American and Latino American students.” Journal of multicultural Counseling and Development3 (2010): 176-186.
- Hill, Nancy E., and Kathryn Torres. “Negotiating the American dream: The paradox of aspirations and achievement among Latino students and engagement between their families and schools.” Journal of Social Issues1 (2010): 95-112.
- Marrero, Floralba Arbelo. “Barriers to School Success for Latino Students.” Journal of Education and Learning2 (2016): 180-186.
- Park, Julie J., and Melissa Millora. “Psychological well-being for White, Black, Latino/a, and Asian American students: Considering spirituality and religion.” Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice4 (2010): 445-461.
- Reynolds, Amy L., Jacob N. Sneva, and Gregory P. Beehler. “The influence of racism-related stress on the academic motivation of Black and Latino/a students.” Journal of college student development2 (2010): 135-149.
- Stein, Kathy. “Meeting the needs of developmental Latino/Latina students.” Journal of College Reading and Learning1 (2005): 82-86.
- Wei, Meifen, Tsun-Yao Ku, and Kelly Yu-Hsin Liao. “Minority stress and college persistence attitudes among African American, Asian American, and Latino students: Perception of university environment as a mediator.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology2 (2011): 195.
